Wrongful Death Suit filed Nov. 13, 2013 in California

[kittychi]

Wasn't it proven that whatever racist, vile remarks were made actually came from someone trying to discredit the opinions of those who thought suicide?

No, that was never "proven."

I saw racist and hate filled remarks against Rebecca on the LHK site for several months after it was created. I am not interested in checking it out, but by now those remarks could have easily been scrubbed.

 

[kittychi]

Perhaps you should review how fingerprints and DNA are left? One may or may not leave fingerprints or DNA when they touch something. It depends on how much oil is on the fingertip and if there are skin cells. So it makes perfect sense that Rebecca's fingerprints/DNA were on one knife and not the other.

There is no way anyone other that Rebecca made those prints. The prints and DNA from the ropes were taken from the knots…and proves Rebecca tied them….no one else.

This was a very angry suicide. There is no rational explanation for what Rebecca did, but did it she did. This was no murder, just a woman that was angry and upset with her boyfriend and his ex-wife. I really don't think she cared much at all about Max. It was all about her.

Here is where we need JS's testimony to answer the question: "Who do you know that can tie tugboat hitch knots?"

He should be able to clear this up very quickly if he says that Rebecca could have tied those knots.

JS knows the truth because of the knots.

 

[*Lash*]

Rebecca comitted her suiicide in a private courtyard of a residential home, not in the middle of a public street. Her body was left uncovered because that is standard in cases where the cause of death is not certain so that physical evidence like DNA and fingerprints are not comprimised. The police were doing their job.

If you want to blame someone for the photos of nude Rebecca lying dead in the courtyard, blame the San Diego News stations. Not the police.

Are you saying Rebecca's death was determined a suicide in the first 13 hours and that's why it took so long for an ME to arrive? No rush?

Really, not even a tent? Regardless of personal beliefs in this case I cannot see how anyone can argue the police were doing their job by leaving a body exposed to the elements and the public for 13 hours.

 

[bourne]

It is very suspicious to me, and it will be to the Judge, and any jury should this go to court (which I doubt unless the Zahaus come up with some real evidence), that this upstanding, perfect, impartial family man, sees "someone acting bizarrely" on the front steps of the most famous residence in town, yet doesn't call the police to report that. He only reports it after the case breaks. Most people will find tht suspicious behaviour.

And since LE interviewed the man and then did not believe his story tells me his story changed, or he was somehow related to the Zahaus, or perhaps had posted against the Shacknais in the first few days after Rebecca's suicide - in the Coronado Patch, or one of the San Diego news sites that was running rampant with wild accusations - and they felt he had alterier motives - they do check those things so that is entirely possible.

There was something about this person that made him not credible or believed by LE. Doubt a jury will discount that like some posters here think.

Hmm, if you were biking in a new neighborhood (I assume the bike family was only visiting Coronado as they had no idea who Rebecca or Dina were), and saw someone who's a complete stranger to you "acting bizarrely", e.g., walking back and forth from front to back door, you would automatically call to report "suspicious behavior"? Really???

If we all call the cops any and every time we see someone we don't know who may or may not live in a home you happen to pass by acting in a manner that looks strange to us and "report suspicious behavior", the phones at all police precincts would be ringing off the hook! That is impractical, unreasonable and nuts.

No, the *appropriate, reasonable* thing a normal, rational person would do is:
a) you notice strange behavior in a strange neighborhood;
b) you have no idea whether that person resides in the home or not -- SO YOU DO NOT REPORT IT because hey, that person could live there and perhaps had dropped their key (or other item) so they are walking back and forth from front to backyard to search for their key/item;
c) however, you then find out in the news the next day or so that someone died a "violent suspicious death" in that home (that's now shown visually on television so you know you didn't mis-identify the home) you passed by where you had noticed the stranger and strange behavior -- SO THEN YOU REPORT IT AT THAT TIME.

Here's an analogy perhaps even you can understand. Remember George Zimmerman? Recall how he reported "suspicious behavior" of a little black kid returning home with a bag of skittles? Remember how that went down? So you would do the SAME thing as Zimmerman did? You would, like Zimmerman, report suspicious activity because a small stranger whom you believe to be acting bizarrely is walking by?

GMAB.

 

[LuckyLucy2]

Here is where we need JS's testimony to answer the question: "Who do you know that can tie tugboat hitch knots?"

He should be able to clear this up very quickly if he says that Rebecca could have tied those knots.

JS knows the truth because of the knots.

The knots were not complicated, nor were they "tugboat hitch knots". From the investigators that actually saw the knots:

How did she learn these complex knots?

We don’t believe she did. These knots were not as complex as they have been made out to be, which is what we discovered when we attempted to recreate the knots on Rebecca’s wrists. Simply stated, this is one of those questions which will most likely never be answered with any certainty.

http://www.sdsheriff.net/coronado/faq.html

 

[LuckyLucy2]

.. how do ya get fingerprints off rope? I'd really like to know.

And it proves nothing. There were gloves present at the scene.

I mistyped there. You are correct, no fingerprints on the rope. But plenty of DNA. From the PowerPoint presentation by SDSO:

Fingerprints from the guest room entry door jamb, balcony door, the large knife, and the bed leg next to the rope were from Rebecca

DNA profiles from the victim’s bindings (hands and feet), the rope around her neck, the rope attached to the footboard of the bed, and the small knife were only from Rebecca


There is no way that anyone other than a wide awake and fully-in-control-of-what-she-was-doing Rebecca Zahau left all that physical evidence. No way.

 

[Ausgirl]

a) you notice strange behavior in a strange neighborhood;
b) you have no idea whether that person resides in the home or not -- SO YOU DO NOT REPORT IT because hey, that person could live there and perhaps had dropped their key (or other item) so they are walking back and forth from front to backyard to search for their key/item;
c) however, you then find out in the news the next day or so that someone died a "violent suspicious death" in that home (that's now shown visually on television so you know you didn't mis-identify the home) you passed by where you had noticed the stranger and strange behavior -- SO THEN YOU REPORT IT AT THAT TIME.

I did this exact thing myself when I first moved into this neighbourhood - only it wasn't a murder, it was a burglary. I saw two scruffy looking guys going into a very nice home and thought, that doesn't look like anywhere they'd live... Next day there was police cars out front of the house, so I called in with a description. The house had been burgled.

I didn't call it in right away, for the exact reason given -- how could I know whether the people in the nice home had a scruffy son or not?

Therefore, there's no question in my mind that the behaviour of these witnesses was completely normal.

 

[EVLizzel]

LuckyLucy2 are you of the opinion that RZ killed MS? I ask because of the photo signature on your comments.

 

[Ausgirl]

I mistyped there. You are correct, no fingerprints on the rope. But plenty of DNA. From the PowerPoint presentation by SDSO:

Fingerprints from the guest room entry door jamb, balcony door, the large knife, and the bed leg next to the rope were from Rebecca

DNA profiles from the victim’s bindings (hands and feet), the rope around her neck, the rope attached to the footboard of the bed, and the small knife were only from Rebecca

I can certainly see why this convincing evidence - on first look. However, seeing as Rebecca *lived* in the house, it's normal for her prints to be on things like doors. What I'm wondering there is -- why aren't there *other people's* fingerprints too? There was quite a few people coming and going from that mansion, so I think there's no way only Rebecca's fingerprints would be in that room.

Doesn't that seem a little weird?

As for DNA - and the print on the knife - that whole thing with pressing something into the hand of another person to make it seem like they handled something is a movie cliche for a reason. Put a gun to somebody's head, and they'll touch anything you want them to.

Doesn't it seem a little weird to you, at all, that Adam's DNA isn't on the ropes?

 

[Zinn]

I think most people would think suicide before murder when seeing a person hanging. It is one of the top ways to commit suicide, not murder. And it turned out that Adam was correct.

Due to Rebecca's condition (naked, multiple visible wounds, dripping blood, black paint on breasts, gagged, bound at wrists and ankles with arms behind her back, I very strongly disagree.

All of the above is just my opinion.

 

[LuckyLucy2]

I believe either she and/or her sister were involved (accidentally or on purpose I do not know), and that they staged the scene to make it look like an accident with the scooter and even took down the chandelier. I believe this because of the different stories that Rebecca told about the accident, because Max's injuries were inconsistent with what she said and the doctors at Rady had reported it to Child Protective Services, and because she got her sister out of town as quickly as possible the next day.

I also believe the Shacknais and Romanos have been falsely accused and have endured so much hate and venom from those that refuse to believe the official findings. They have been vindicated by the SDSO, the FBI, the Department of Justice, the Attorney General's office (twice). They are the victims in this case, not Rebecca Zahau.

 

[EVLizzel]

Okay, I get what you are saying.

I may have just been stuck on that idea because her death has ruled a suicide.

Let's say for minute I believe that she did kill herself(I don't really believe anything, nor honestly does it matter what I think, I know) but has any evidence of RZ having a dramatic temperament been shown? I mean, we all have some streak of drama, but the way she died, if she had killed herself, points to a personality that I think would have revealed itself earlier.

 

[EVLizzel]

Sorry, my above reply was ton Zinn. I need to start using the reply with quotes button.

 

[LuckyLucy2]

There were two other fingerprints on the other side of the bed frame. One a childs and the other could not be identified (so was not Adams, Dina's, or Nina's) since they all had prints taken.

So you think they put a gun to Rebecca's head? Funny, they left no hairs, no DNA, no NOTHING. How did they manage that miraculous feat? Nope, they were all from a very coherent Rebecca Zahau.

They didn't test the entire 20'+ of rope ( I forget the actual length). Mainly the areas that the actual person that tied them would have touched….the knots. Pretty impossible to get your DNA inside a knot unless you are the person tying it.

 

[Zinn]

I believe either she and/or her sister were involved (accidentally or on purpose I do not know), and that they staged the scene to make it look like an accident with the scooter and even took down the chandelier. I believe this because of the different stories that Rebecca told about the accident, because Max's injuries were inconsistent with what she said and the doctors at Rady had reported it to Child Protective Services, and because she got her sister out of town as quickly as possible the next day.

I also believe the Shacknais and Romanos have been falsely accused and have endured so much hate and venom from those that refuse to believe the official findings. They have been vindicated by the SDSO, the FBI, the Department of Justice, the Attorney General's office (twice). They are the victims in this case, not Rebecca Zahau.

I don't want to stray off topic, so will keep these comments brief. I think it's possible to have compassion for all of the victims, including Max, Rebecca and all of their loved ones who are suffering. This particular thread is related to the wrongful death suit connected to Rebecca's death, so I'm more focused on Rebecca on this thread. That doesn't mean I don't have compassion for Max's family, as well. I don't feel the need to ration compassion.

All of the above is just my opinion.

 

[LuckyLucy2]

Okay, I get what you are saying.

I may have just been stuck on that idea because her death has ruled a suicide.

Let's say for minute I believe that she did kill herself(I don't really believe anything, nor honestly does it matter what I think, I know) but has any evidence of RZ having a dramatic temperament been shown? I mean, we all have some streak of drama, but the way she died, if she had killed herself, points to a personality that I think would have revealed itself earlier.

Well, she did show a lack of impulse control and decision making when she shoplifted $1000 worth of jewelry from Macy's right before she met Jonah, when she was an adult of 30. And her diary entries are pretty dramatic and intense.

 

[Ausgirl]

I think I've already posted something about there being an incredible number of crimes documented just on this site, in which NO dna or hairs or fibres were found but the victim's. This is not unusual, especially if care is taken to wear gloves.

There's nothing to say the dna on and IN the knots came from her *hands* and not her neck or other contact, as the rope passed over her skin.

And if the whole rope wasn't tested, how do they KNOW hers was the *only* dna on it? They don't know, is the answer. Sloppy police work proves nothing, except sloppy police work. But it's very convenient for whoever else handled that rope. Or purports to have handled it.

 

[*Lash*]

LL2, can you supply a link showing Dina was fingerprinted? We know from the 11/2011 SDSO press conference Dina and Jonah did not give DNA samples. TIA

DAVID GOTFREDSON/CBS8:
OK, so if you had taken DNA from Jonah or Dina, wouldn’t you have been able tocompare that to some of these un-identifiable mixed sources?

GRUBB:
No, that's the point. When you have a low-level mixture and it's so low that it's un-interpretable, it means that even if we have other subjects to compare, it is not going tobe fruitful.

DAVID GOTFREDSON/CBS8:
Maybe Mr. Gore can respond to why Dina and Jonah... [Gore interrupts question]

GORE:
Yeah, because we knew where Jonah was. If we had come up with unknown DNA duringthe course of our investigation we could have taken DNA samples from Jonah. We tookit from people that were leaving town. I think we took DNA from her sister before sheleft town. Uh -- We knew where Jonah was going to be. If we needed to get DNA fromhim we could've gone out and taken a DNA specimen from him.

DAVID GOTFREDSON/CBS8:
And Dina?

GORE:
The same with Dina.

 

[*Lash*]

Have I missed something were Rebecca's diary entries released to the public? I never heard the terms 'pretty dramatic' and 'intense' in any of the info that has been made available? Link, please? TIA

 

[Ausgirl]

There were two other fingerprints on the other side of the bed frame. One a childs and the other could not be identified (so was not Adams, Dina's, or Nina's) since they all had prints taken.

And yet, there's NO other fingerprints in a *guest room* anywhere on any of the doors, except Rebecca's. I think that qualifies as 'weird'.